Bobbin marking mechanism



Sept. 7, G CLARK BOBBIN MARKING MECHAN ISM Filed July 2. 194e 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVHVTOR.

m y c fam E R 6 O m W sept. 7, 194s; G, CLARK 2,448,773

BOBBIN MARKING MECHANISM Filed July 2, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.GEORGE CIL/IRK Wal/@ A T TURA/Ey Patented Sept. 7, 1948 UNITED STATESlPATENT OFFICE My invention relates to bobbin marking devices ior use ona ller Winder or similar device to apply an identifying mark to thethread or iiller as it is wound on a bobbin.

Many thousands of bobbins are used in the textile industry to receivethread, yarn or ller of different types and sizes. In order to identifythose bobbins carrying the same size or type of thread it is usual toapply a mark to the thread on the bobbin-different colors orarrangements of colors being used to identify different sizes and typesfof threads. Such marks have heretofore been applied to the thread byhand, but it has been suggested that a marker might be operated by thewinding mechanism by which the thread ls wound on the bobbin.

The marking of the filled bobbins by hand is tedious and expensivewhereas the mechanism heretofore proposed for marking the bobbins isuncertain in operation and complicated and expensive. Moreover themarker is positioned so that it interferes with the operator when it isnecessary to tie a broken thread orvotherwise Work on the machine.Furthermore, marking means lwhich are only moved by gravity into contactwith a rotating bobbin tend to bounce or ride over the thread withoutapplying a clear or prominent mark thereto.

'In order to overcome these difficulties VI have developed a type ofbobbin marker which is actuated by the winding mechanism but is simpleand economical to produce and use and has proven very satisfactory inactual operati-on. The marker is urged toward the bobbin in such a wayas to mark the thread clearly and is so positioned that it does notinterfere with the normal work of the machine operator.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a novel type of bobbinmarker which is operable by the winding mechanism by which the thread iswound on the bobbin.

Another object of my invention is to provide a bobbin marker in which amarking member is positive in its operation of marking a bobbin.

A further object of my invention is to provide improved means foractuating a bobbin marker on operation of the Winding mechanism by whichthread is wound on a bobbin.

Another object of my invention is to provide a bobbin marker which willpresent no interference to the normal work of the operator.

These and other objects and features of my invention will appear fromthe following description thereof in which reference is made to the:ligures of the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing: e

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a typical form of bobbin marking deviceembodying my invention as seen when applied to a conventional windingmechanism, a portion of the housing for the winding mechanism beingbroken away.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the winding mechanism ofFig. l showing the bobbin marking device in end elevation, and

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are side elevations of the device illustrated in Fig. 1as seen from the opposite side of the winding mechanism and showing themarking device in various positions to which it is movable.

In that form of my invention chosen for pur- DOses of illustration inthe drawings the winding mechanism shown is of a typical andconventional type such as thatknown as the Whitin- Schweiter automaticfilling Winder. In such winding mechanism there is a picker chain 2which is movable step by step lengthwise of a bobbin 4 rotatably mountedon the spindle 6. A porcelain thread guiding eye 8 is mounted foroscillation on a. stud Il! on the carriage I2 movable by the pickerchain 2 so that it will travel lengthwise of the bobbin while being heldin position relative to the bobbin by the rods I4 and I8. Movement ofthe picker chain and thread guiding eye is controlled by a builder I8which engages the thread which has been Wound -on the bobbin.

The marking device is mounted on the housing 20 which covers andprotects the picker chain 2 and other elements for controlling themovement of the guiding eye 8 and builder I8. As shown, the markingdevice has a base plate 22 from which supports 24 and 28 projectupwardly to support a rotatable shaft 28. A marker actuating spring 30surrounds the shaft 28 adjacent one end thereof and is secured at oneend to a collar 32 Liixedly mounted on shaft 28 while its opposite endis secured to a collar 34 rotatably mounted on the shaft 28. An arm 36carrying a marker 38, whichmay be chalk, crayon or the like, is carriedby the collar 34. Spring 38 is tensioned so that it normally tends torotate the arm 38 and marker 38 in a clockwise direction and to themarking position as seen in Figs. 2 and 5 for marking the bobbin onwhich thread is being wound. A restoring spring 40 surrounds theopposite end of the shaft 28 and is secured at one end to the support 24lwhile its opposite end is secured to a collar 42 xedly mounted on theshaft 28. The spring 40 is tensioned so that it normally tends to rotatethe shaft 28 in a counterclockwise direction as seen in Fig. 2 to returnthe arm 38 and marker 38 to their inactive positions shown in Fig. 3.

'I'he movement of the arm 38 and marker 38 is effected by controlelements carried by a collar 44 mounted on a sleeve 46 which surroundsthe central portion of shaft 28 between the collars 34 and 42 and isrotatable with respect to the shaft 28. The control elements showninclude a bar 48 secured to collar 44 andvarranged so that one endthereof extends into position below the marker arm 36 and the other endis positioned above a pin 58 that projects from the collar 42 fixed toshaft 28. An operating pin 52 projects from the collar 44 and isengageable by actuating means movable with the picker chain of thewinding mechanism to rotate the collar 44 and bar 48 in a clockwisedirection as seen in Fig. 2 to actuate the marker.

The actuating means preferred are illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 andconsist of the cam member '54 engageable with the operating Ipin 52, andthe releasing member 56 engageable with the arm 36 of the marker to holdthe marker elevated as shown in Fig. 4 until a predetermined markinginterval. The members 54 and 56 are mounted on a plate 58 secured to thecarriage I2 which supports the thread guiding eye 8 and builder i8 andare movable therewith lby the picker chain 2 in a directionlongitudinally of the bobbin and with respect to those elements of themarking device mounted on the housing 28 of the winding mechanism asindicated by the arrow in Fig. 3.

When the upper run of the picker chain 12 is moved to the left as seenin Fig. 1 and to the normal position for starting a windingoperation,the control elements assume the position shown in Fig. 3. The arm 36 andmarker 38 are then held in raised position by the spring 48 which istensioned to rotate the collar 32 in a direction to raise the pin 58upward so that 'bar 48 is urged against the marker arm 36 to hold thearm and marker 38 in the inoperative position shown in Fig. 3.

Thereafter as the thread is wound on the bobbin, the plate 58 is carriedby the picker chain of the winding mechanism and to the left as seen inFig. 3. The cam mem'ber 54 is then brought into engagement with theoperating pin 52 on the collar 44 carried by sleeve 46 and forces theoperating pin 52 downward so that the collar 44 is rotated in aclockwise direction as seen in Figs. 2 to 5. Bar 48 carried by collar 44engages pin 58 on collar 42 fixed to shaft 28 and therefore the shaft 28is rotated causing collar 32 on the opposite end of shaft 28 to rotatein a clockwise direction to tension spring 38. 'I'he tensioning ofspring 38 causes the marker arm 36 to move downward with the bar 48 asthe bar rotates with collar 44 in a clockwise direction. The marker arm38 continues to move toward its marking position as bar 48 is depresseduntil the marker arm engages the releasing mem-ber 58. The elements thenapproach the position illustrated in Fig. 4.

Shaft 28 is rotated further and serves to increase the tension on spring38 as the marker arm is held in a raised position by the releasingmember 56 while the cam member 54 moves to the left. Continued rotationof the shaft 28 as the cam member 54 moves to the left is eilfected bypositioning the cam member and pin 58 on collar 42 so that the cammember will engage pin 58 as it moves beyond the operating pin '52 oncollar 44. The elements then assume the position of Fig. 4 wherein cammember 54 engages pin 52 and the releasing member 58 is engaged bymarker arm 38 while spring 38 is tensioned by further rotation of shaft28.

Thereafter upon movement of the picker ch-ain i and the plate 58 furtherto the left (toward the right as seen in Fig. 1), the releasing member56 passes from beneath the marker arm 38 to release the arm for movementdownward under the action of spring 38 and to the full line position ofFigs. 2 and 5. When in the position of Fig. 5 the bar 48 is loweredsuiiiciently to permit rotation of the marker arm 36 far enough to bringthe markers 38 into engagement with the bobbin and at such time themarkers are urged toward the bobbin by the tensioned spring 38. 'I'hemarkers are thus urged effectively against the thread on the bobbin andcannot bounce or ride freely over the thread without marking the threadclearly.

As the picker chain moves further to the left the cam member 54 movesbeyond the pin 58 on collar 32 thereby releasing the collar 32 whereuponthe spring 48 serves to rotate the collar 32 and shaft 28 as well as thecollar 44 and bar 48 in a counterclockwise direction as seen in Fig. 2.The ba-r 48 then raises the arm 38 and marker 38, returning them to theposition of Fig. 3 so that the markers are lifted from the bobbin toassure only momentary but positive marking of the thread. A bumperspring 68 carried by the head 62 xed on shaft 28 is positioned to engagethe housing 28 to limit upward movement of the marker arm 36 and toprevent excessive rotation r of shaft 28 in a counterclockwise directionas seen in Fig. 2 under the action of spring 48.

After the picker chain has moved the plate 58 and the members 54 and 56beyond the marking device, the chain is returned automatically to thestarting position in the normal course of operation of the windingmechanism as the bobbin is filled and ejected. 'Ihe elements are thusrestored to their original position preparatory to marking anotherbobbin.

The particular form of marking device described and shown in the drawingis of further advantage in that the elements are so located at the sideof the thread guide and bobbin that they do-not interferewith the workof the operator in tying a broken thread or performing other operationsnecessary for rapid handling of the work. Furthermore, the marker ispivotally mounted for movement in a plane substantially at right anglesto the axis of the bobbin so that it moves back out of the way of theoperator as soon as the mark has been applied to the thread. The markcan be located on the bobbin at any point throughout the length thereofand rotation of the bobbin does not impose any laterally directedstrains on the marking device. A particular advantage in theconstruction described resides in the brief but positive operation ofthe marker which imposes a minimum of resistance to rotation of thebobbin and normal operation of the winding mechanism.

While I have shown and described a preferred form of marking deviceembodying my invention, it will be apparent that numerous changes andmodifications may be made in the form, construction and arrangement ofthe elements employed, and in View thereof it should be understood thatthe particular construction shown in the drawings and described above isintended to be illustrative only and is not intended to limit the scopeof my invention.-

I claim:

1. A bobbin marking device comprising marking means pivotally mountedadjacent a bobbin to be marked, cam means controlling operation of saidmarking means, a spring for urging said marking means toward saidbobbin, and means actuated by said cam means for tensioning said springmeans.

2. A bobbin marking device comprising marking means pivotally mountedadjacent a bobbin to be marked and movable in a plane substantially atright angles to said bobbin, spring means for urging said bobbin markingmeans toward said bobbin, other spring means for moving said bobbinmarking means away from'said bobbin, control means movablelongitudinally of said bobbin, for tensioning both of said spring means,releasing means movable with the control means to release said markingmeans for operation by the first mentioned spring means to mark saidbobbin, and other means movable with said control means and responsiveto predetermined movement thereof for releasing said other spring meansto move said marking means away from a bobbin after completion of amarking operation.

3. Bobbin marking means adapted to be ap` plied to winding mechanismhaving a picker chain and a housing therefor. comprising a marker; ashaft extending parallel to said bobbin about which said marker ismovable, spring means connected to said shaft and marker, and actuatingmeans movable with said picker chain for rotating said shaft in adirection toltension said spring and urge the marker toward the bobbin.

4. Bobbin marking means adapted to be applied to winding mechanismhaving a picker chain and a housing therefor, comprising a marker. ashaft extending parallel to said bobbin about which said marker ismovable.' spring means connected to said shaft and marker,`and actuatingmeans movable with said picker chain for rotating said shaft in adirection to tension said spring and urge the marker toward the. bobbin,and releasing means movable with said actuating means for resistingmovement of said marker until said spring means is under predeterminedtension. l

5. Bobbin marking means ladapted to bev applied to winding mechanismhaving a picker chain and a housing therefor, comprising a marker, ashaft extending parallel to said bobbin about which said marker ismovable, spring means connected to said shaft and marker, and actuatingmeans movable with said picker chain for rotating said shaft in adirection to tension said. spring and urge the marker toward the bobbin,and releasing means movable with said actuating means for resistingmovement of said marker until said spring means is under predeterminedtension, and means for restoring said marker to an inoperative positionafter operation of said marker.

GEORGE CLARK.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date lambert Nov. 27, 1945Number

